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swarm on the 4th of July, years ago, 

 put them into a barrel, and saw chips 

 at the bottom, and wondered what they 

 were. He was surprised to learn after- 

 wards that it was the cappings gnawed 

 off by the bees. 



Remarks were also made, and sorae 

 questions asked by Dr. Oren, Rev. W. 

 F. Clarke and others. 



Mr. Newman, by request, replied to 

 all in a happy vein. 



Several then spoke of the "beauty" 

 in bees, and agreed with Mr. Newman, 

 that the best bees were those that were 

 • ' bred for business as well as for 

 beauty." 



Mr. McKnightsaid there ought to be 

 some standard for excellence. He 

 believed in beauty and utility com- 

 bined. The beauty of a bull-dog is 

 real ugliness ! The points at Competi- 

 tive Shows were all stated as to horses, 

 cattle, poultry, dogs, etc., and it ought 

 to be also stated for bees ! These 

 should be competitive points. He said 

 that the address of Mr. Newman, just 

 listened to, was measurably above 

 criticism, but he would like the points 

 mentioned to be settled by some body 

 authorized to do so. The beauty of a 

 bee was in its temper. If it could be 

 handled and manipulated without re- 

 ceiving stings, it would be put down 

 as good in that respect. 



In reference to the Mayor's address 

 of Welcome, he desired to thank him 

 for his kind references to Canada and 

 its representatives present. The United 

 States had been represented as a 

 wooer, and Canada as the coy, bash- 

 ful damsel. But there would be no 

 marriage of the two— for her mamma 

 would object. She must say, in char- 

 acteristic language, to her admirer — 

 " I will be a sister to you," and that is 

 all. Canada had a model government. 

 She was a Republic all but in 

 name ; and as Democratic and Repub- 

 lican as any one could wish. All that 

 the Mother Country did was to appoint 

 the Governor General. Canada paid 

 her salary, as well as all the salaries 

 of all her officers in all departments. 

 She literally governs herself. 



QUESTIONS. 



Can an apiaiy by Italianized by 

 daubing a young queen with honey 

 and then dropping her into a colony 

 just after a swarm has issued ? 



After some discussion it was said 

 that a virgin queen was intended by 

 the one who asked the question. • Then 

 all agreed that a colonj' could not be 

 Italianized by a virgin queen. 



S. A. Shuck, of Liverpool, Ills., said 

 if honey was coming in freely, fertile 

 queens, put in the hive in that way, 

 would be accepted in ninety-nine cases 

 out of one hundred. 



President Taylor said tliat there was 

 no necessity of daubingher with honey. 



A. N. Draper, of Upper Alton, Ills., 

 bought black bees and Italianized them 

 by letting Italian queens run in at the 

 entrance, when honey was being gath- 

 ered rapidly. 



A. I. Root said he was the one who 

 had advocated introducing queens in 

 that way. Queens an hour old could 

 run in anywhere — but few are lost. 

 The will be unmolested 'till they come 

 to lay, then they settle it. and decide 

 which shall remain. 



A question w.as asked as to the size 

 of a bee-cellar, to have the best results. 



Dr. Miller prefers a large cellar : he 

 believes in a plenty of room. But too 

 large a cellar would not pay ; yet there 

 should be room enough so that the 

 hives would not ci'owd too much. The 

 depth underground should be about 8 

 feet. The entrance should be on the 

 side where the general prevailing 

 winds would not come. If on a side 

 hill, let the entrance be where you can 

 walk in on the level. It should have 

 double doors. 



R. L. Taylor said the sun would 

 penetrate through doors more readily 

 than through the sides of the building, 

 and the door therefore should not be 

 whore the sun would shine upon it 

 very long. The north or east would 

 be preferable, and avoid the sun. 



A. I. Root said a large body of air 

 is preferable to a sudden change in the 

 temperature. 



Dr. Miller said he wanted good air 

 for the bees. 



A. N. Draper asked : If air is easily 

 vitiated, why do bees winter well 

 when they are buried in clamps ? 



W. F. Clarke said that the best size 

 is all out-doors, and 50 miles high. 



Dr. Mason said his cellar was 14x22 

 feet, and he there winters 50 colonies 

 satisfactorily. Pure air is more needed 

 in early spring than in winter, as that 

 is the most dangerous time. 



S. A. Shuck said that four years ago 

 he wintered 130 colonies in a cellar 

 18x32 feet, but the air was very much 

 vitiated, so that a lamp would not 

 burn in it, nor matches ignite. He 

 opened the door for awhile, and then 

 the air was all right ; but he could not 

 see that the bees had suffered any 

 damage. 



C. P. Dadant could not believe that 

 bees would live in such air as would 

 extinguish a lamp. 



S. A. Shuck replied that while the 

 air was so bad that the lamp would 

 not burn, the bees were all right. 



Dr. Jesse Oren, of La Porte. Iowa, 

 had wintered 230 colonies successfully 

 in a cellar 16x28 feet, and S feet high. 

 He had used it for 20 years. 



The Convention adjourned until 2:00 

 o'clock p.m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



President Taylor called the Conven- 

 tion to order at 1:30 p.m. 



The following resolution was pre- 

 .sented by Thomas G. Newman, and 

 adopted : 



Resoliiod, That we appoint Prof. A. 

 J. Cook a committee of one, to use his 

 best endeavors to secure an appropria- 

 tion from the general government — 

 out of the $5,000 that can be used for 

 the aid of apiculture- — to be used in 

 securing the best bees to be found in 

 the Orient, or elsewhere, for the pur- 

 pose of experiment — looking for a still 

 greater improvement in the good bees 

 we now have. 



Question: "In doubling up colo- 

 nies, would you save both queens ?" 



B. Taylor answered, No. He would 

 have no use for the extra queen after 

 doubling up two weak colonies. He 

 had wintered two weak colonies by 

 using a queen-excluding honey-board, 

 and he thought that weak colonies 

 could be wintered better in that way 

 than by uniting them. He had win- 

 tered half a dozen weak colonies in 

 that way, last winter, with clusters 3 

 or 4 inches apart. If the clusters 

 should touch, they would unite. 



A. I. Root said that this was his 

 hobby years ago, to winter two queens 

 in a hive. He first tried tin between 

 the clusters, and lost them ; then he 

 used wire-cloth, wood, etc., between 

 the clusters, and the wood worked 

 best. 



Dr. Miller said he had wintered two 

 queens in one hive, with from two to 

 four quarts of bees in each, with a |— 

 inch board between the clusters. He 

 had tried it and given it up. He could 

 always winter weak colonies in that 

 way. 



B. Taylor gave a separate entrance 

 to each colony. 



A. E. Ault, of North Liberty, Iowa, 

 wants strong colonies in the spring, 

 and uses a j-inch division-board, and 

 crowds the bees on what combs they 

 can cover, and they wintered well. 



Dr. Miller said that the weak colo- 

 nies will winter better in that way 

 than separately, and will build up in 

 the spring as fast as if they were single 

 colonies. 



Question ; ' ■ Will a colony of bees 

 winter without sealed honey ?" 



Dr. Mason said that it would, but he 

 would rather not risk it very often. 

 It would winter better in a dry, than 

 in a damp season. In a dry cellar it 

 would be the same. 



R. McKnight asked, Is not unsealed 

 honey unhealthy for bees ? 



Dr. Miller said that unsealed honey 

 will sour much more readily than 

 when it is sealed. He preferred it 

 sealed. 



